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on Africa |
| By: | Simplice A, Asongu |
| Abstract: | With the proliferation of technology used to prate software, this paper answers some key questions in policy decision making. Dynamic panel Generalized Methods of Moments and Two Stage Least Squares are employed. IPRs laws (treaties) are instrumented with government quality dynamics to assess their incidence on software piracy. The following findings are established. (1) Government institutions are crucial in enforcing IPRs laws (treaties) in the fight against software piracy. (2) Main IP laws enacted by the legislature and Multilateral IP laws are most effective in combating piracy. (3) IPRs laws, WIPO Treaties and Bilateral Treaties do not have significant negative incidences on software piracy. Policy implications are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Software piracy; Intellectual property rights; Panel data; Africa |
| JEL: | F42 O38 O34 O57 K42 |
| Date: | 2012–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43590&r=afr |
| By: | Van Leeuwen, Bas; van Leeuwen-Li, Jieli; Foldvari, Peter |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we address the issue of how education affected income inequality in twentieth-century Africa. Three channels are identified through which education may affect income inequality. First, an increase in the average educational level is correlated with an increase in average income, which, ceteris paribus, reduces inequality. Second, a reduction in educational inequality may, given a positive correlation between education level and income, reduce income inequality. Thirdly, an increase in the supply of education may decrease the price of skilled labour thus lowering income inequality. We find that in the long-run education does not affect income growth, indicating that in twentieth-century Africa it was inspiration (i.e., Total Factor Productivity [TFP]) rather than perspiration (i.e., education and physical capital) that drove economic development. Testing for the effects of the remaining two channels, we found a significant non-linear relationship between educational and income inequality suggesting that, contrary to the level of education, these two channels were important in determining income inequality in Africa. Taking an example from the end of the twentieth century, if educational equality had been eliminated, then income inequality would decline by no less than 81%. |
| Keywords: | Africa; education; history; inequality; economic growth |
| JEL: | N1 O55 D6 N3 N17 |
| Date: | 2012–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43574&r=afr |
| By: | Leisa Perch (International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth); Gabriel Labbate (Senior Programme Officer, UN-REDD Programme/Poverty and Environment Initiative,) |
| Abstract: | Growth, Equity and Sustainability: A Declaration of Interdependence Over one billion of us live without many of the basics that the other six billion take as given. Although 28 countries have moved from low-income status to middle-income status, with Ghana and Zambia among the newest Middle Income Countries, an estimated 800 million people still live in low-income countries. Of these, half live in just five countries, three of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. In these least-developed countries (LDCs), conflict, disaster and broader human insecurity impose structural limits on efforts to move from crisis to risk reduction and from growth to sustained development. So although many millions have been lifted out of poverty in the last ten years, it is also true that more people live in chronic hunger than ever before. Significant and sustained progress will require faster and better efforts. The message of this Poverty in Focus is that, ?For Growth to be inclusive, it must be sustained and sustainable and that, for it to be sustained and sustainable, it must also be equitable.? As a contribution to the dialogue around Rio+20 and to the ongoing discussions around a post-2015 MDG Agenda, this Poverty in Focus links future development to sustainability and particularly to social sustainability. Looking beyond the critical issues of ?carbon footprints?, ?low-carbon development?,? green economy? and the economics behind saving the planet, it draws attention back to the continuing challenge of ensuring that growth and development deliver for the poor and vulnerable. In its many forms?energy poverty, lack of access to water and sanitation, malnutrition or insecure access to food, and lack of access to education and health?the scale and scope of global deprivation call current development policy and practice into question. Growth, gender, poverty and the environment can no longer be treated as loosely connected components of development. Recognizing their interdependence is at the core of improved and sustained development for all. For one thing, the continuing decline of the quantity and quality of natural resources and of ecosystem functions is likely to exacerbate the likelihood of conflict over resources, particularly water. According to UNDP?s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, 35 countries had entered what could be designated a ?post-conflict phase? by 2008. The cost of conflict has been enormous, matching or surpassing, according to some estimates, the value of ODA received in the last 20 to 30 years in the same countries. Addressing topics such as the evolving debate on environmental and social justice and improved accounting frameworks to ?include? environmental assets and services in considerations of growth, the enclosed articles can help us go beyond lip-service to the notion of sustainability. They focus on the ?software? components of development, highlighting the need for equal attention to process and to results. Suggesting that inclusive and sustainable development will need to leverage ?social technologies? such as political innovations, true engagement and honest evaluation, they make a clear case for a strong, representative state and the complementary roles of civil society and the private sector in defining and achieving sustained and sustainable development. They underscore the role of formal and informal mechanisms in the negotiation and reconciliation of conflicting and competing interests. In view of the high expectations placed on the next year?s Rio+20 meeting, let us remind ourselves that ?social sustainability? will be built on the foundations of productive and social inclusion. Too often, the focus has fallen largely on productive inclusion, with limited effort to address the structural factors that cause and sustain exclusion and marginalization, be they related to gender, political processes, property rights for the poor, and so on. Moreover, a focus on ?sustained? development as well as sustainable development acknowledges that, for many countries, existing development gains are fragile and easily reversed. The acute challenges faced by countries in the Horn of Africa due to persistent drought, displacement, conflict and poverty are a case in point. A socially sustainable approach, say these authors, is one in which policy efforts do not shy away from the many interdependent multiple dynamics, processes and situations that affect vulnerability and predispose the poor and the vulnerable to harm from shocks and change. Growth, equity and sustainability are mutually compatible, if efforts have enough time and resources, are responsive to underlying structural causes and encourage the vigorous participation of the poor, allowing them to define their futures. What follows illuminates the complexity of inclusiveness as a development outcome and highlights bold action in and by the South. We hope that these articles serve as a source of further innovation and inspire more cooperation and the spread of knowledge within the South. Ours is an age of political convulsions, global economic shifts, inexorable climatic change and stubborn poverty. Informed and catalytic strategies are needed now more than ever before. by Olav Kjorven, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Policy Development, UNDP |
| Keywords: | Dimensions of Inclusive Development |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:ifocus:23&r=afr |
| By: | Jorge Braga de Macedo |
| Abstract: | The virtuous cycle between development success and foreign policy in Cape Verde reflects a positive interaction between globalization and governance. Development success under globalization entails positive market perceptions regarding the orientation and predictability of policies as well as the accompanying institutional arrangements, thereby making foreign policy salient beyond the comparator group, or “aspirational”. Even if there is no universally applicable development model, an aspirational foreign policy can be built on positive rankings with respect to comparator groups. In Macedo and Pereira (2010), macro-level policy and institutional combinations underpinning trade diversification and income convergence in West and Southern Africa are used to establish development success for Cape Verde and Mozambique respectively. Here, the narrative of long-term development helps identify the following drivers: moving towards a market economy; opening up to regional and global trade; increasing economic and political freedom; pursuing macroeconomic stability and financial reputation; ensuring policy continuity (especially in trade and industrial sectors) and focusing on human development (especially poverty reduction and education). Looking at GDP per capita and indicators of financial reputation and good governance of sub-regional peers is not sufficient to conclude that Cape Verde’s convergence will be sustained. Nevertheless, the positive interaction between trade and financial globalization, on the one hand, and democracy and good governance, on the other, have positive implications for the effectiveness of foreign policy across the region as well as in the Portuguese-speaking community. JEL codes: |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unl:unlfep:wp572&r=afr |
| By: | Nganou, Jean-Pascal; Kebede, Ephraim |
| Abstract: | Burundi, a small fragile economy, went through sporadic civil war since its independence in 1962 during which rampant insecurity had adverse impact on the country’s social and economic development. While Burundi is agriculturally rich, high rate of growth of rural population places overwhelming pressure on limited land resources. It is widely recognized that without significant growth in agriculture it will be virtually impossible to address poverty reduction. Given the high population density and limited off-farm employment opportunities, enhancing agriculture productivity is key for sustainable economic growth and improving the living standard of rural families. This paper highlights the importance of: - Improved technology packages (at the production, post-harvest, processing and marketing stages). - Building the capacity of producers’ organizations. - Irrigation development (marshland irrigation systems) and conservation measures. - Basic rural infrastructure (feeder roads). - Increasing the production and improving the processing and marketing of high value export crops (coffee and tea) and diversifying agricultural exports (horticulture). To examine the roles of aforementioned factors, the paper employs a structural composition model. In so doing, it provides quantitative evidence that Burundi’s economic growth is largely determined by total factor productivity (TFP), which in turn is affected by macroeconomic policies and stability, and infrastructural and institutional quality. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture; Burundi; Productivity; Sources of growth; World Bank |
| JEL: | Q1 O5 O4 F33 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43577&r=afr |
| By: | Kodila Tedika, Oasis |
| Abstract: | This article analysis a nature of corruption in Democratic Republic of Congo. It shows, with arguments, on the one hand the deserved reputation for a highly corrupt country, that one reads regularly in different collations on corruption and says to the complexity and depth of the corruption. The basis of the systemic side of corruption in this country. Cet article a pour objectif de décortiquer la nature de la corruption en République démocratique du Congo. Il démontre, avec arguments, d’une part la réputation méritée d’un pays fortement corrompu, que l’on lit régulièrement dans les différents classements sur la corruption et d’autre part affirme la complexité et la profondeur de cette corruption. Ce qui fonde le côté systémique de la corruption dans ce pays. |
| Keywords: | corruption; systémique; République démocratique du Congo |
| JEL: | D73 O55 |
| Date: | 2013–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43463&r=afr |